Red Sox Nation has cast its lonely eyes to Kyle Weiland, thrust into the spotlight before his time

AP PhotoKyle Weiland started well, but poor fielding and Orioles home-run power cost the Red Sox starter in his 6-5 loss on Monday.

On a sunny Monday at Fenway, the fate of the Red Sox was placed in the hands of a rookie making his fifth big league start.

This is like handing over a multinational corporation's investment portfolio to the elevator operator.

If that sounds like a knock on Kyle Weiland, it is not meant to be. As breathtaking as Boston's collapse has been, the fact that a team with a $162 million payroll needs quality starts from this 25-year-old right-hander might be the most astonishing aspect of all - and the most telling.

"Absolutely, it's motivating to pitch in games like this,'' Weiland said after the 6-5 loss to Baltimore.

"It says a lot that they keep giving me the ball. Obviously they trust me, and I believe in myself.''

That's nice, but not true. The Red Sox have trusted Weiland because their other choices have either been dismal or injured.

He zipped through the first seven batters, and a magic story seemed possible. "Rookie Saves Sox Year!'' the headline would have blared.

Then, left-fielder Darnell McDonald dropped a fly ball that came out of the sun, and a line drive that did not.

Matt Angle followed with a double that sent McDonald crashing against the wall. Weiland took the cue, giving up three home runs before leaving with a 6-2 deficit in the fifth.

Weiland was pitching on three days' rest for the first time as a pro. This is the state of the Red Sox, financially wealthy but miserably poor in healthy, reliable pitching.

"I didn't throw that much in my last start (61 pitches on Thursday), so it was like an extended side session. No excuses,'' Weiland said.

In other words, Weiland's inability to get through the fourth inning Thursday made him available Monday. He got the call because of failure, not success.

That's the reality of this surreal Sox September.

Blame Theo Epstein or Terry Francona or the players, but don't blame Weiland. His development this season should have been concentrated solely in Pawtucket, where his 8-10 record and 3.58 ERA suggested potential but hardly a finished product.

Instead, he was asked to drag the Red Sox back into the victory column.

"It's my job to pick up my teammates. They pick me up nine times out of 10,'' Weiland said of his reaction to McDonald's vaudeville act in left.

That is not true. Weiland has not been in the big leagues long enough to get picked up 10 times.

He is 0-3 with a 7.99 ERA for a team whose starters had a 7.04 ERA in the ghastly 4-14 slide.

Someday, Weiland may be able to get through a batting order more than once. For now, his presence in games of this magnitude says less about him than about the Red Sox, who could not parlay a king's ransom into enough pitching to compete in September.